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Republican presidential hopefuls were interviewed by Mike Allen of POLITICO at the Freedom Partners summit. Administered by the mega-wealthy Koch Brothers, the conference caters to donors who support a group of conservative organizations. One of the goals of this private conference is to raise money from the wealthy conservative donors for the campaigns of the leading candidates.
Jeb Bush, one of the front runners for the race to president, was questioned by Allen about his “out-of-the-box” approach to fund raising which has already earned him $120 million over six months through his super PAC and personally.
“I mean, this is a long haul. Are you supposed to just warm up, just kind of work your way into it? Am I missing something here?” Bush said. “I’m running hard, I’m running to win; I’m not running to come in third, I’m not running to, to, you know, have it on my resume that I ran for president.
“This is not the purpose. The purpose is to run with purpose, run with heart, run in a way that draws people towards our cause and money helps. Money helps. I’m playing by the rules of the game, the way it’s laid out. And if people don’t like it, that’s just tough luck.”
Allen also questioned Bush about Obama’s carbon guidelines, which Bush characterized as “a disaster” and “jobs killer.” They also discussed Bush’s apparent change of heart regarding raising taxes in exchange for budget cuts, something Bush was in favor of in 2012, but is not willing to agree to now.
Following Ted Cruz on to the stage, Bush stated that his experience as governor of Florida sets him apart from the other candidates who do not have executive leadership experience.
“Executive leadership,” he said, “is different than talking about things.”
Allen also interviewed Carly Fiorina, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz.